Of stupid books, rainstorms and others
by Caramel-Deer
Summary: Chapter Nine: There was something bugging at Levy's mind, something she couldn't quite put a finger on or put into proper words. Gajevy. NEW CHAPTER UP!
1. Twilight

Levy thought there was never, ever a book she disliked. Even if they were boring, a little weird for her liking, or in some headache-giving language, they were fun. Sometimes thinking about their characters and trying to understand them was even better than in usual stories.

So, she was completely and utterly shocked that **THIS** book was so bad she couldn't actually read it. It was confusing, cheap, Mary-sue and _sparkly_.

"Oi, bookworm." And to make it even worse, Gajeel came. Script mage didn't really talked to him that much, concentrating on her friends- Lucy, Jet and Droy, and Mira. She rarely started conversation with him. Chances small, he started with her, and it was mostly teasing. He seemed to like so much to make her angry.

Levy looked up at him from the terrible book with a pout. "What do you want?" The dragonslayer looked surprised for a split second, but shrugged it off.

"Wanted to ask a question."

"About what?"

"That book."

"What? Why?" She asked, confused. Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"I wanted to ask what kind of an idiot calls a story 'Twilight', that's all. Don't even think I got interested in the contents, or something. That book seems like some girly shit."

Levy suddenly laughed. It was a cold, cruel laugh that made him shiver. Now he couldn't do anything to hide his emotions – It was like she wrote a huge 'surprise' across his face.

From the look that Salamander on the other side of the guild gave him, he would have to deal with it later…

But who the fuck cared anyway.

Gajeel turned back to the short script mage when she finished her laughing.

"That's great, because it's the **worst, Worst, WORST** book I have ever read in my whole _lifetime_. It was written by a crazy and uncreative woman, and even if you don't care, It's about freaking **SPARKLING WAMPIRES**." Assuming she couldn't take it anymore, she grabbed the book by the edge and ran to the library like it _burned_, intent on putting it back where it belonged, and never, never opening it again.

Was the road to the library always that short?

She didn't knew he was watching her with wide eyes, a grin slowly spreading across his face. It was first time he saw her so angry because of a book, not because of him, or other guildmembers.

And assuming how pretty she looked when she was angry… The iron dragon decided to go after her. Maybe he'll say how shitty vampires are and how, for god's sake, is name 'Twilight' for a book so pathetic.

And maybe they'll ramble about this stupid writer. Finally a subject for a proper talk.

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><p>Okay, this is a story that popped up in my head yesterday, and i decided to write it here for your enjoyment. Sorry if it's crappy, but i tired, and you've gotta know i'm below fourteen and English isn't my first language xD;;;;<p>

I'd like your opinion about this story

_~HeartGold12_

**_R&R_**


	2. Storm

This story is officially turning into a drabble collection.

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><p>Levy watched the dark sky above the guild, shuddering inwardly. God, she hated lightning as much as she disliked Laxus, even if he was the good guy now. How ironic – Being attracted to the guy who impaled you and your friends to a tree, and disliking the guy that didn't even harmed you if he meant to.<p>

Maybe the reason was the fact that Iron dragon was the person that shielded her and got hurt. Hurt badly. And then just shrugged it off and departed to do some stupid mission… But she was missing the point.

The point was the black swirling mass above the guild that made Her, Lily, Wendy, Laxus and even Gajeel crazy. In different ways, but still.

Where Sky and Thunder Dragon slayers were excitedly sitting on the roof and before the guild, the remaining two were sitting in the furthest corner of the building trying (failing) to look unbothered. The Eksheed shook violently as a thunder roared loudly and she looked at him with pity, walking closer and not sparing another glance at the two outside.

When she sat next to the iron dragon his gaze moved on her for a while before turning back to the cat. He was shaking slightly, she noticed. Maybe he also remembered the incident with Laxus. Or maybe he disliked lightning from the beginning, since it was one of his few weaknesses.

"Lily, are you fine?" She asked, mildly concerned.

"I-I guess." The cat answered, inching closer to her at a murmur of thunder.

And then he wasn't fine because came another one, much, much closer and much powerful.

His eyes lit up in alarm and he proceeded to dig his claws in her shirt and bare his fangs. Levy jumped at the action, surprised, and hugged the furry slightly, petting his head reassuringly and smiling at Gajeel slightly. He didn't saw it because his eyes were suddenly fixed on the ceiling.

"Lily?"

"W-W-W-W-hat-t?" He managed to choke out.

"Are you really this scared?"

"I s-sure am…"

"It's okay." She smiled, petting the cat more. "You don't have to jump on people, you know."

The Eksheed smiled nervously. "It just makes me feel a little safer."

"I understand. Wait- No… I don't. Why didn't you held on Gajeel then?"

"Good question." Muttered the Iron dragon darkly, glaring at her the way she didn't really like. Pantherlily hissed at him, giving a 'stop-scaring-her-for-stupid-reason' look.

"I'll answer because Levy asks, jealous idiot." He smirked. "It's because my dear partner is a damned Ironman and attracts lightning like fire attracts moths. I don't want to be more scared then I already am, or even worse, being 'accidentally' burned to a crisp by some lightning."

"When you get struck by lightning you don't get fried to a crisp, but fried to a crisp AND paralyzed, cat." Gajeel snapped, giving him a look.

"Whatever you say, metal head. I don't want anything that involves getting burned, paralyzed or otherwise dealing damage and/or being uncomfortable happen to me, and the here present dragon slayer will surely cause more than one happen."

Gajeel growled and Levy looked at him absentmindedly, what make her look like Juvia who went to Juvia-land. Gajeel didn't like it.

…And then she stood up and sat, precisely, _on his lap._

And now he did.

But he was too shocked to admit it, so the only thing that came out of his mouth was, shared with Lily:

"What are you doing?"

"Well…" Levy blushed. "I guessed that the problem was Gajeel wanted to hold onto you, Lily, and, uch, you wanted to hold onto anything that wasn't Gajeel. So, there is a really easy way to solve the problem – to put something, or someone, between you."

_What a stupid way_, they all thought but nobody said anything. Because Levy _wanted_ to sit on his lap, Gajeel _liked_ her sitting on his lap, and Lily knew them too well for their own good.

And it worked, too.

Half of an hour later Mira was finally free from the customers that seemed unaffected by the howling storm and merrily talked, fought and took bets above the groaning thunders. She sighed happily, stretched and looked around for someone to talk, like Happy or Lily.

She stopped still when she spotted three familiar persons in the corner – One tiny, one small and one huge, enveloping them in a tight embrace. Her inner fangirl screamed as she approached them slowly. Lily twitched and opened one eye before smiling knowingly and closing it, snuggling into the tangled hands of his friends lazily.

They were soon wrapped together by a long blanket from behind the counter.

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><p>777 words.<p>

Yes folks. I'm not dead! And I think I'm going to put Tetsuko on hiatus… I think it's kinda too early to write such big stories when you got new school etc.

But I'll work on oneshots just fine.

...

Also, there wasn't really a lot of GaLe stories recently (more like only one.). Now i don't feel guilty that i didn't wrote anything, nether, and i am begging for more GaLe guys!

**R&R**

_~HeartGold12_


	3. Promise

**Sorry for not updating! But look, I've got something with 1500 words for you. About, ofcourse TI being destroyed. 'Cause it's the most popular (the only for now) topic people (can) write about.**

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><p>When the Master shouted at them to run, she obeyed. Instantly.<p>

She was tired and scared, limping away on the injured leg Wendy didn't healed because she was stupid and refused. She must have looked horrible, limping like that as fast as she could, and she must have looked even worse when she tripped under the force of small earthquakes the dragon unleashed while trying to flee from Makarov's grasp.

The leg gave in and she fell forward with a yelp, closing her eyes as dirt dug into her bandages and sparks of pain exploded on her whole hip. She heard the loud, frantic thumps of Lightning dragon slayer's boots fade, before it was overcame by steady swish and pulse of air behind her as the beast made progress.

Primal fear erupted in her chest and Levy started crawling forward while trying to put weight on her bandaged leg and crying at once. There was a larger earthquake and she fell down yet again, feeling only terror and aching uselessness. She was going to die, wasn't she?

_"Levy!"_

_"Levy-ch-chan!"_

Brown eyes opened slowly and unwillingly. If she was going to die she didn't want to crawl like that anymore. She wanted to lay down and wait for the ground to swallow her up, or to bury her and somehow make her death quick…

A strong arm yanked her up from the ground and she felt the familiar texture of bandages made by solid script under her fingertips as she outstretched her hands in protest. Her vision cleared as the tears in her eyes slid down her cheeks and she met the faces of her nakama.

Well, face. The crying Wendy disappeared from her sight as Gajeel brought his face mere inches from hers. His eyes were angry even when he was scared and confused, and she thought that he wasn't angry only at the dragon.

"Oi, Levy! Get up! Don't be left behind!" He murmured fiercely before giving her a good shake that caused script mage to lose footing once again.

The hand holding her upper arm shot out to wrap around her waist and she heard horrible curse before the iron dragon once again helped her up. "What's wrong with you?"

"M-My leg…" She stuttered as she felt another set of hands gently touch the dirty fabric. There was a whisper of magic as Wendy cast healing spells, warmth running off of her hands in waves that squished the horrible, twisting pain into something more bearable.

Wendy worked for about twenty seconds before pulling back and wiping her forehead with the back of her palm. "This is as much as I can do now. I'm sorry… Though it should subdue the pain."

Levy shook her head. "Thank you." She whispered softly.

Now that the pain was gone her mind was numb and empty. She felt the hand on her shoulder tug before Gajeel once again shouted at them to run, and she concentrated on the road ahead and yells of Makarov.

Gajeel grabbed Wendy and they quickly took off, faster than they could imagine themselves running in this condition. Catching up to others they started to exchange glances with Juvia, who was draped over Gray's shoulder, Laxus who looked relieved to see the blue haired mage running again, and Elfman who could barely keep his eyes open over the small waterfalls of tears that flowed down his cheeks. Everyone had the same face of terror and confusion, something that never, ever happened before.

And then they heard the scream louder and filled with more pain than ever before.

Everyone stopped and whipped around, looking as master was pushed down to the ground and Acnologia begun to claw at his stomach. It was horrible, to watch their father die like this.

They couldn't run anymore. Their eyes were glued to the dragon, it's supposedly beautiful, black scales, shining eyes and yaws open in a terrorizing roar.

No more.

Levy felt her lips turn into a stubborn line as she jerked her shoulder off from Iron dragon's grasp. She felt his gaze on her as she took a deep breath…

And started running back like some kind of an _idiot._

And she wasn't the only one.

Natsu was faster even as he was far beside her, and she felt the magical energy swish around as he sped past her in direction of the beast.

Fairy spirit flared within them. The way back was much shorter than they thought, and then it was just Erza screaming 'CHARGE!' as her hand moved mid air and bright flames hit the dragon in the belly. Much to her surprise Gajeel appeared right before her, _right_,_ impaled_ hand transforming into a sword as he attacked the dragon himself. As she remembered that fact another thought popped up in her head, the one Levy had at the back of her head ever since she was watching over him in the camp.

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><p>When the beast roared mightily Gajeel took two wary steps back and stood before Levy, ready to defend her of any incoming attack. This whole situation was madness, and he could concentrate only on attacking and protecting the small bookworm from anything the fucking ignorant dragon could do. He was aware that one spell, one swipe could kill her, and he was going <em>mad<em> over the thought of limp, dead bookworm laying on the ground.

"Gajeel!" His head jerked up as he heard her call his name. She grabbed the edge of his arm-sword with her fingertips to catch his attention, and he turned his whole face to her, left eye glinting.

"I-I just wanted to say something before I forget again!" She shouted over the uproar of battle and he was _shocked_ to see her cheeks turn a bright shade of red. The stupid, overused scenario of love confessions in the battles flashed though his head and his throat went dry.

"What?..." He said, stunned.

"A-After we got back to the guild…" She started. He brought his face closer to hear her, giving her a fierce glare.

"I-I wanted to say that… That I could make you some iron with my magic whenever you'll want. I-I suppose you wouldn't want it, but…" She trailed off.

This was _better_ than a love confession. Gajeel gave her a huge happy smile before replying:

"Wouldn't have enough magic to make as much iron as I want from you, Shorty." Levy gave him a wide eyed stare before she turned even redder and gave a gorgeous, happy smile back.

The short moment was missed by most members around them (Mira would notice it even if she was blindfolded and busy dying), but they knew they would remember it clearly to the end of their lives.

And then the moment ended, and he cursed violently as his predictions upon Acnologia were right: It gave a horrible screeching scream before it released a wave of power.

"Watch out!" He shouted, jumping and wrapping his arms around his beloved bookworm in a firm hold before the ground was above his head and everything was spinning.

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><p>Levy felt like she was on a rollercoaster. The world spun around few times and then she felt the impact of hitting the ground, though it was less effective as Gajeel twisted in the air to meet the ground with his scaly back. She held him like her life mattered on it even after she regained her senses.<p>

Gajeel slowly opened one eye before his expression turned to sheer shock and she was suddenly back up with Fried and Bixlow grunting in pain next to her. She saw him look at the dragon who was flying mid air with opened jaws and a bright light flashing from it's throat, before he yelled above everyone else:

"It's a breath attack!"

After that everything was really fast. Guild members panicking, her shouting about defensive magic without seals to despairing Fried and Bixlow complementing her before everyone started to join their hands.

She felt the huge palm of Glidartz on hers as she whipped her head around, searching for Iron dragon. He was holding Wendy and rushed in her direction with Sky Maiden and Eksheeds trailing behind. As she grabbed his outstretched hand she felt the magic move through the connection, like Unison Raid. Giving him last, teary eyed look she concentrated on the situation and quickened the flow.

She felt his hand squeeze hers and she squeezed it back, both hands turning pale from the pressure as the deathly blow approached.

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><p><strong>Well, chapter 253 was a huge WTF for me. In TvTropes it's called wham episode, check it out. The timeskip, too.<strong>

**I believe they're not dead. They couldn't, and one smart explanation is that EVERY SINGLE PAIRING except BiscaxAlzack would be done for if they did. GaLe, NaLu, NaLi, GrayVia, JerZa, Trios, HappyxCharle, EVERYTHING. The fan(girl)s wouldn't read it anymore. So, I'm optimistic.**

…**What didn't stop a huge WTF to escape my mouth.**

**Enjoyed it?**

**Review!**

_~HeartGold12_


	4. Spam and Catgirls

Gajeel did not believe what he saw. He really didn't. But it was right before his eyes and it was too good no tear the gaze away, goddamn! Why didn't he saw her like that earlier? Why didn't he imagined how perfectly she would look, noticing her cat-like cute face and tiny, curvy frame?

He felt like he was going to die. And he would go to Valhalla. Because right before him, not noticing him among the crowd, (what usually made her stop doing what she did and blush, and he liked what she was doing now) was a blue goddess.

Levy in a catgirl suit.

Levy in a catgirl suit dancing with Bunnygirl in a bunny suit to Mira's female version of 'shooby-do-bop'.

The world was sparkling.

The tiny script mage was wearing a pair of magic white cat ears with blue stripes and sported a long tail with the same pattern. She had those stripes painted on her back, front of thighs and arms, and he was able to see it because she was wearing white striped SHORT-shorts and a tight shirt shoving off stomach and arms bound with long blue lace. Lucy had a pink-white dress on, but he didn't care.

His eyes were now dedicated to the Tiger-Levy.

"…Gajeel, for god's sake, I am speaking to you!" A strong shove made him uncharacteristically stumble back and almost fall on his ass, and he angrily looked at an amused Lily in his Edo-size looking down at him.

"What?" He snapped, before giving a last, longing glance at the stage, where the girls were done dancing and laughed together, while the (male) audience howled.

"I was asking if you enjoy being an S-class mage." Lily chuckled. "But I think I didn't even have to ask."

Gajeel blushed and shifted his gaze to Gray who was thanking a steaming Juvia for being so brave under the sharp tip of Erza's sword and Natsu who laughed his ass off.

He and Juvia were the lucky ones this year, finally archiving the long lost position from Phantom. He was once again 'one of the strongest', with people looking at him like he mattered a lot. People being amazed and scared of him and whispering that he was a match for Salamander, what made his pride, and the demon buried and squished deep within him swell.

Only this time was different. No pat on the shoulder and an offer of slaughter whispered dirtily in his hear, only happy cheers, party, and Levy chorusing shooby-do-bo-

"You doze off again. Maybe you should just tell her how you feel."

"I- What?" Iron dragon looked at his partner with uncharacteristically wide eyes.

"Och come on. If you didn't snap yet, after seeing her like that must have done it. It's quite obvious you like her-"

"Cat, I'm not!"

"Believe in it, fine." Lily laughed. In his face. "Your dreamy face isn't going to be out of my mind for a while though."

Gajeel was left alone while trying to loudly deny any bonds he might or might not have in long sentences dotted with curses.

He sure must have looked like a schoolgirl.

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><p>He was sitting at the crowded bar half of an hour later, what would be a quarter to midnight, watching her once again while trying to convince himself that the fact she was small and cute and he <em>lo<em>- was nothing and gulping down some booze from Cana, what was her congratulations for him. Of course after he declined an offer of seeing his future. His love life, precisely.

There was sure something going on between Lily and booze/bar chicks with him as a subject, and it pissed him off because he was almost sure he was going to get hooked up with-

"Gajeel~kun?"

With _Levy_.

He tried to keep his scowl (that started to vanish quickly with her proximity and alcohol in his bloodstream summed up) on as she stood right before him carefully, ears twitching and tail swaying and looking so _hot and delicious_ that he just wanted-

Ach crap.

He was going to suck at long inward speeches now, wasn't he? The girl sure distracted him.

"What?" He said with his voice noticeably calmer.

"I... I'm sorry I didn't congratulate you before, but I was occupied by others." She smiled at him shyly. "I just got free a while ago and since you're not busy, I decided I'll do it."

It would be better for his sanity if his mind was occupied by anything else that wasn't her.

"So, um, c-congratulations!" She stuttered, becoming red. She looked so cute and adorable and catlike that he had to avert his eyes, staring dumbly at those blue stripes that made her hips so much more sexy.

But wait, something wasn't right.

"But you did dance before, didn't you?" He said slowly, eyes narrowing. "It was your congratulations for me."

"Och, that… Master and Mira wanted me to do it with someone, so I chose Lu-chan. It's from the guild…"

Gajeel resisted the urge to facepalm and closed his eyes.

"The costumes too?"

"No. That was a little tip from Lily." Okay, his eyes flew open.

"What did he say to you?" He stood up and grabbed her shoulders, red tickling his cheekbones. Levy flinched.

"Nothing! I just figured you like cats because you like him…" She looked in confusion as he released a deep, relived sigh.

"So I wanted to look like a cat too."

"You look great." He muttered, grabbing his forgotten mug of booze as she became bright red. "You can actually wear this more often" She became brighter red. "So, if you're done congratulating, you can go now."

"Actually…" She trailed off.

"Hn?"

She looked down at the ground and raised her right hand.

"…Solid script: Iron!"

The rush of magic disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and he eyed his favorite word with curiosity. The 'o' didn't even had the heart inside anymore; the whole 'o' was a heart. His eyebrow rose as she turned around to hide her ashamed face at the change.

"T-This is my 'thank you'." She stuttered before rushing to the crowd of drunk mages. However she made it just three steps forward before she was hit with a weight that almost made her fall.

There was a deep rumble behind her as she was _glomped_ by the Iron Dragon. His arms were encircling her waist and his forehead was rested in her hair, chest trembling with a sharp purr against her back.

Her legs turned into jelly.

"…And this is MY 'thanks'." He purred before letting go and making his way out of the building, leaving her gasping and fanning herself in shock.

Maybe he did like her, after all.

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><p><strong>This is so pointless! :O<strong>

**I actually wrote it to describe Gajeel's reaction at levy as a catgirl. The rest is spam.**

**I don't believe that nobody even wrote about it yet. Gajeel loves cats and loves Levy, right? Why not mix it up?**

**Though, now I may be smug about being the author of the theory.**

***Is smug***

**R&R**

_~HeartGold12_


	5. Weakness

**I didn't update in AGES, I know. I just had such a huge writer's block, and everything I wrote seemed so lame that I decided not to upload it. Sorry! Anyway, I warn this little piece of idea may contain a little OOC'ness because I didn't wrote for such a long time that I jumped out of my gears.**

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><p>This was just simple math.<p>

**The guild - Strong members without the time skip = Timeskip victims**

**Timeskip victims - The people who got stronger over those three months = The people who didn't**

**The people who didn't – The people who can fight or greatly support others =**

**HER.**

Aka the weakest member of the guild.

The weakest member in the weakest guild.

She reached the complete zero level.

Levy looked down at the crimson letters on a yellowed piece of paper where she wrote down this simple calculation, feeling so small and sad and fearful like she didn't ever before. She lifted one small finger and traced the wet ink, making the letters less readable, but it didn't help – they were still here, still on the paper, in her head, everywhere. The sense of what she _was_ slapped her in the face and left shaking and teary eyed as she heard girls laugh loudly in the bath downstairs, sharing their company and secrets much to Mira's delight.

They invited Lucy too… but she didn't care about the Stellar Spirit mage so much in this moment, other than the tightening jealousy at how much attention people gave her and how strong she was. Levy should be happy that her nakama were having such a great time, but she only felt even more small and weak, AND plain and disinteresting right now, imagining all those… _figures_ bathing in the hot water with steams of fog dancing around them.

She really wanted to just slam her head into the pillow and cry and cry and cry, but she refused to be a crybaby on top of all those flaws that she was created from.

But did it matter if she didn't? People always looked down at her and expected her to be shy and fragile and much of a crybaby when she didn't accomplish something, with was now _quite_ a lot. Plus, she was alone now, wasn't she? Nobody would see.

Nobody would see. Or care if she cried. Or care anyway. Just ignore her because she was so weak, and so slow, and so plain, and so boring. Thinking of fighting and how she wouldn't just stand a chance, especially after those three months.

Think she was stupid too, because _he_ _told her_ how to get his attention, and she seemingly decided she doesn't want it if she didn't even try to fight him seriously, right?

Or didn't look at him when he came back happy and tired with his cat that was so much more awesome than her. She completely ignored him, right?

Huge tears started splashing onto the page she was clutching with trembling hands as Levy realized that she was so incredibly stupid to throw away that last chance when _he_ gave her any attention, asking how her training went. She just… she just looked away! She looked away like some _pouting child_ and refused to look at his face, because she was so _embarrassed_ of herself and worrying that he will laugh at her, until he grew bored and stalked off to Pantherlily. Only then she realized how much she _wanted_ Gajeel to laugh, and fled when nobody was looking so she wouldn't be seen crying.

Crying yet again.

Levy took a deep breath and swiped at her eyes with balled fists, giving up after few moments and running to her bathroom where she washed her face, taking a long while to calm down and be positive, staring blankly at the small mirror above her sink, that reflected the shower behind before she succeeded.

...Maybe if she would just wash herself and have a decent sleep things will be brighter tomorrow? She turned around and thought for a while, completely missing the window sliding open and closing quietly. Finally her lips twitched upward in a small smile and she ran out to get herself a set of pajama, only to stop like a statue and gape at Gajeel for a long while, as he stared back with amusement.

"Hi, Shorty." He said finally and Levy almost fell dead on the spot because _it was really him_ and not some stress caused hallucination. Well, at least she wasn't going crazy. Yet.

"Gajeel, _what are you doing_ here?" The script mage squeaked when she regained her senses to see a more and more amused Dragon Slayer.

"I wanted to see you, so I talked with Erza, and she told me where you live, and threatened if I will see you in a towel or something, she will kill me." He said simply, looking relaxed as he sat on her bed and put his arms behind his head, leaning on the wall. Levy blushed horribly at the possibility of him seeing her in a towel, before the first part of the sentence clicked in her head. Jeez, she was so slow around him.

Slow and clumsy and embarrassed.

"Why… why did you wanted to see me?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. He blinked and looked at her, corners of his mouth twitching upward in a smirk.

"I heard of that incident that led you and your team to _party_ for the entire three months. Wanted to know if that was why you were so pissed today, or was it because I turned you down _that time_." Levy looked sharply to her right and Gajeel smirked even more at her temper, closing his eyes and leaning further on the wall.

"You know, I already said that it would be hell. People just can't start to train on a too high level, it will crush them. And you are not fit for close combat anyway, bookworm. Actually, I think you would be better in the second line-" He stopped and opened his eyes when he heard a sniffle, and turned his head quickly to look at the Script Mage. "What the-"

His smirk vanished when he saw how horribly hurt she looked, and realized he must have told something stupid. "Wait- no- don't be upset! I meant-"

"I know what you mean." Levy said with her lower lip trembling, horrible embarrassment and humiliation evident in the dark scarlet on her cheeks as she looked at her small feet and flowery socks. Gajeel rose from the bed, raising his arms to apologize. Darn it! When he finally felt at ease with his cute partner he _had_ to fuck it up, didn't he? Cursing himself he reached to grab her shoulders when she stepped away and he froze, hands outstretched and grasping at the air.

"And I know you're right." She added, and his face morphed into that of absolute shock and lack of understanding.

Levy took a deep breath and sighed softly, opening her mouth and admitting without so much as a small pause:

" Because I… I _am_ weak. Right? Truly and _unbelievably_ _weak_."

She took a small step backwards toward the bathroom door, taking another breath as similar statements followed the first, the emotions from the past few days since they got back with Erza and everyone resurfacing though the hole in her defenses.

"And boring... And plain. And flat too, really. Annoying. Small. A crybaby, I can't even take sentence without crying!" After each word she was making another small step toward the door, ghost of a smile playing on her lips as she continued. "Pitiful and pitying herself. Unhelpful. And…" She paused, looking up at her friend- screw that, _crush_, who was staring at her with more and more shocked expression, hand on the doorknob "And… And I really am naïve. Because I like you, and you don't care for me at all in that way, or I guess, any other."

The door to the bathroom cracked and clicked shut as she turned the key inside after slipping in quickly.

"Because I really am weak." She finished into the door.

There was a while of silence where she took few shaky breaths at her apparent confession, and raised her hands to her eyes to wipe the small tears away, before there was a huge impact on the door before her. Levy's hands changed direction and flew to her mouth as she gasped at the long crack that appeared right before her. Gajeel just… He just threw himself at the door? Her eyes widened in terror – he must be really furious! Looking around frantically, she tried to find anything that would at least resemble a weapon she could threaten him with – she found nothing. Shaking, she stumbled backwards and pressed herself to the wall as the second impact collided with her bathroom door and it literally exploded into thousand tiny splinters of plywood.

In the centre of the hole stood Gajeel, head lowered and hair tumbling over his shoulders and face as he took deep breaths at the sudden exertion, and then he raised his head, red eyes glinting as he made his way quickly toward her, heavy boots clinking on the tile floor. Levy slid to the ground and curled up, covering her face with her hands as he knelt next to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, only to yelp in surprise as he pulled her toward him, falling onto his bottom on the white tiles as he hugged her fiercely.

"Gajeel-"

"_Shut up_." He growled, his chin on her shoulder as he stared at the white walls, hands tightening around her waist. "Don't you _dare_ speak any more words about yourself like _that_." He closed his eyes and growled as he heard her sniffle again. "This is all a bunch of _bullshit._"

"No it's not!" Levy cried out as she pressed her face into his neck, voice muffled as she continued. "This is the truth…"

"Call it truth _yourself_, but I know what I'm talking about, you _idiot._" He snarled. "Everything you said… It's _not_ true. Even if you think so. Even if you're _freaking convinced_ you're nothing to yourself, you're not nothing to _me_." Her eyes widened at the statement. "You are important to me. _Really_ fucking important."

"I… I am?" She mumbled more to herself than to him, and felt him twitch, and nod. Her mind went blank as her resolve shook upon receiving information like _this_, but she refused to give up, now more stubborn than sure about herself. "But, I'm still we-" Her counter was cut short as he tugged on a long, blue strand of her hair and she yelped, grabbing at the hand he used to pull it with. "Gajeel!-"

"No you're _not_. And you know what? When you started crying I was about to tell that _you would freaking rock_ in the second line with the long range attacks!" He turned to face her, scowling as she stared at him with those wide, brown eyes. She looked completely lost now, mouth moving slightly as she stared at him for few seconds, before her lip wavered slightly. She lowered her gaze down and looked like a lost puppy, before she opened her mouth again.

"Than… What am I?" She asked softly.

Gajeel shook his head, about to answer that she was someone important or liked by everyone in the guild, startled at the fact how inbelivebly silly(and cute) she was, but he suddenly realized that he just broke down her door, hugged her and was about to answer such a… a funny question. He felt his lips stretch out in his trademark smirk as he answered smugly:

"You're _my woman_."

"W-What?" She stammered, as Gajeel put his hand on her cheek, and was silenced in her newly found horrible embarrassment as he pressed his lips against hers and kissed her deeply.

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><p><strong>I needed to make something, come on! There is no GaLe stories at all, maybe except the ones that make me cry! I don't want to cry! ;A;<strong>

**Anyway, why Levy felt like such a downer – I'll explain if nobody caught the simple math. She thought that because she is the weakest member of the guild Gajeel won't care about her at ALL, and it was breaking her heart because, of course, she likes him a lot, and, to addition, started comparing herself to the others and ignored that she's our cute, happy, favorite bookworm. Actually, in the recent chapters it looks like the complete opposite from the first part – They interacted a lot, even if it was off screen!(with the sorcerer guy and when she wanted to go with them) And it makes me happy! :D**

**I don't even care if nobody will review this, because I wrote this for you guys. If you don't like it, your thing. WRITE A BETTER ONE (please).**

**Och, and this is the first time I made them kiss, too!**

**On another note, if you have been interested in idea of levy wearing a catsuit if you read the last chapter, feel free to use it!**


	6. Monsters

**I had the idea in my head and asked Gale's owner, Mystwalker, to borrow him. I'm sorry if it was OOC, but I'm really trying! Also sorry for not updating this, but I write TDP most of the time.**

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><p>The house was drowning in comfortable silence, broken by a single soft snore every now and then, or a rustle of sheets as occupants of bed shifted in a more comfortable position in the tight embrace. Black and blue hair spilled around their shoulders, and their faces were illuminated by the moonlight seeping from between the curtains, only to be recognizable as Levy and Gajeel Redfox, few years into the bright, positive future.<p>

Where Levy's sleep was rather light, as her instincts were always ready to answer a small cry from the room next to their bedroom, Gajeel was sleeping like a rock, intent of ignoring the said small cry because he knew Levy was prepared for it. They were both were really comfortable and had no intention of waking up for any other reason than Yoko getting hungry, and usually, they didn't.

But today wasn't an usual day.

The door creaked as it was opened a little, and from beside it blinked a red eye, taking a while to absorb the wardrobe to the right, the bed under the wall with another wardrobe and a bookshelf, a chest and an armchair beside a window to the left, with few pictures on the walls and a pot with flowers on a table at the corner.

After the eye took the sight in, he heard a faint sigh and reminded itself why he was in his parent's bedroom.

There was a _monster_ outside.

The door was pushed forward a little more as a four year old boy tip-toed inside, cringing when he saw the open window. He almost ran toward it, and, jumping on the armchair, shut it quickly trying not to make a lot of noise. He locked it up and pulled the curtains, leaving the room in complete darkness. Gulping, the boy shook and stumbled toward his parents, outstretching his short arms to touch the fabric of the armchair and the bookshelf, followed by the smaller wardrobe just like he remembered, and then, finally, the bed.

The boy climbed up on the soft surface and lifted up the blanket, crawling up until his head showed up on the other side, and laid between his parents, shaking a bit at the horrifying memory of _the_ _monster_.

After a minute simply laying here proved to be impossible. The boy felt like he was going to cry. He sat up, gazed at his parents who were just laying there peacefully, and shook Levy a little.

"Mom!" The boy whispered loudly. "Mom!"

Levy grimaced, biting her lip and cracking one eye open, to recognize her son, Gale Redfox. "Hmmm?" She hummed, ready to fall back asleep if he simply wanted to sleep with them. She unwrapped her arms from around her husband, and hugged him tightly instead.

"Mom, there's a monster outside!"

There was an immediate reaction to that statement.

Levy's eyes shot open as she sat up, pulling the child on her knees. Gajeel, who woke up at the movement next to him and was lazily listening to the conversation, opened his eyes too, raising himself up on his right elbow, and checked the window only to find it closed and hidden behind the curtains. "_What?"_

Gale gulped. "Well… I wanted to get up and go to the bathroom… and I came back… and it was there, so huge and scary!" The last part was noticeably more high pitched, and Levy hugged the terrified boy tightly, rocking back and forth to give him some comfort, eyes wide in confusion. Gajeel stared at is son for a moment, before narrowing his eyes and getting up, transforming his arm into a sword and stalking out of the bedroom.

He was a bit worried – scratch that, really worried about the kid. Gale wasn't himself. Gale was usually smart, rather courageous for his age (it wouldn't be much, then, but what to expect from a four year old?), often stomping the ground when he was speaking to surely get noticed - what was _awesome_ when his information was important - and protective over Yoko.

The point was, that when he wasn't taken seriously, or was afraid, or didn't know what to do, he always put up a brave face, _especially_ in front of him and Levy, to make them proud. Something that made him lose this image should be taken seriously.

Gajeel turned the knob of Gale's bedroom and pushed the door open, quickly jumping inside with both hands as iron rods, and spun around to find any possible enemy. Finding none, he lowered his guard a little but had one arm still transformed, fixing his eyes on the open window.

With one swift movement, he was at an arm's length from it and slammed it closed, jumping away and crouching, trying to hear any hostile creature moving inside the house.

There was none. The dragon briefly wondered if the child had a nightmare. Deciding to check one last time before coming back and telling his son that the place was empty, he pressed his face against the window and looked out-

_Och fu_-

Gajeel jumped away and tripped on the carpet, landing on his butt before the small bed belonging to his son, and inched further from the window, pressing a hand to his chest. _God_, no wonder the kid was terrified. Swallowing and sighing, the iron dragon approached the window once more, looked outside and, despite himself, felt the hair stand up on his neck.

"I found it!" He shouted, and heard the frantic footsteps on the stairs, as Levy burst inside the room with her hand ready to cast a spell- "-Stop, stop!"

Levy stared at him for a second, and when he pointed at the window, lowered her arm hastily. They both crept toward the glass surface and peered outside, finding out what exactly frightened their son so much.

Outside, sitting on a tree, just next to the swing, was a huge owl. It was probably sick, and must have lost the directions, because it hit itself on something. Anyway, it had a long trail of blood dripping down its head as it spun it's skull around at a mad peace.

There was a while of stunned silence.

"Jesus, it's _freaky_" Levy breathed out, moving her hand to his shirt and grasping it. "We need to get rid of it before Gale will get nightmares."

"He's already going to have them." Gajeel breathed out, too, opening the window. "But you're right."

He really didn't want to touch that sick thing, so, taking a deep breath, sat on the windowsill and unleashed an Iron Dragon's roar, hitting the animal and shredding it into pieces in a second. "Done."

He slowly made his way back inside, and closed the window for good, locking it up for a good measure. They both realized that the problem was solved and called out to their son, only to be met with silence.

"We should have expected that he's not going to move from the bedroom now." Levy muttered, and twitched as she heard the baby finally start to cry in her small room, giving him a look that told Gajeel that it was him to comfort the young boy before she disappeared in the hall with him following closely behind, scratching his head and groaning as the early hour caught up to him.

Ten minutes later all four of them were sitting at the table, Gale sipping on a cup of hot chocolate he received with a praise and looking slightly lost, with (sulking) Gajeel next to him and Levy comforting the tiny, squirming bundle containing blue haired Nana with soft humming. As the baby finally closed her red eyes and Gale emptied his cup, Gajeel stood and gathered his son up.

"we're all going to sleep." He ordered and marched toward the main bedroom to settle all four of them in the bed and cover them up with the blanket, before grumbling 'goodnight' and quickly falling asleep.

His wife and son smiled and soon followed.

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><p><strong>So, short cute story for you GaLe fans. I hope you liked it, Mystwalker! :3;;;<strong>


	7. Soft

**I'm bored and give you a oneshot that I enjoyed writing real much.**

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><p>It was early when Gajeel woke up – a content look on his face as he checked his surroundings for any sign that something might be wrong, and, finding none, carefully made his way out of the bed and into the hall area.<p>

Everything was quiet around him, only Lily gave an occasional snore from his little comfortable nest inside a drawer, the hair on his head fanned out around his round head and ears – messy, too, as it wasn't kept in the usual, small ponytail.

He took his time, smirking at the adorable sight of his veteran partner and best friend, shaking his head as he stalked softly into the bathroom.

Brushed his hair. Washed his face. He regarded himself for a moment, and decided he was fit-to-be-seen by the world, even if a little tired.

He came back from a solo-mission yesterday.

Lots of money.

Lots of time away. Two weeks, exactly. He had to make it up.

Frowning, the man tilted his head and squinted, trying to produce a sane and harmless idea on how to make it up. It twisted his face into a frown, what in turn made him look like a 'manly kitty', so he stopped immediately as he saw it in the mirror.

He was not a kitty. At least, not to Elfman.

Even if his hair was becoming messier every year and he couldn't keep it out of his forehead and face.

Uch, what was he going on about, again? He was distracting imself.

The idea sparked itself in when his footsteps echoed on the stairs, small clangs and jingles distinguishing him from his new group of neighbors. It made all the morning people look up from whatever they did – be it reading a newspaper, sitting on a bench, watering flowers or whatever non-mages did in the morning – and acknowledge him.

Gajeel loved being acknowledged.

Therefore, having his mood lifted up greatly by the groups of people that knew his name and deeds in the strongest guild of Fairy Tail, his step turned a little bit lighter. His posture a little bit more straight.

His smirk a little bit more soft.

And then, it was the bakery. Lots of lots of bread, each one smelling differently but pleasantly. A familiar smell. Making you think of home.

He brought some, and gave the man behind the counter a hard glare when the other ramble about it being all fresh and good. The guy flinched. He stalked away, staring at the man like he challenged him if the bread wasn't proven to be first class fresh and otherwise Godly.

Because it had be. Gajeel said so and the man said so, too.

...

It was his sixth(thirteenth) year since he joined the guild, just so you know.

* * *

><p>The plastic bag was rustling and he was cursing those damn plastic bags for always rustling.<p>

* * *

><p>Why did everything have to be packed in a way that everybody, save him, knew how it worked?<p>

Mouthing a curse, he stared at the shredded plastic bag and then at the torn packages and then at his fingers - tips and nails already metalized by his frustration.

Damn, it wasn't how it worked.

So, steadying himself, he took a deep breath in, a deep breath out, and started turning the closed container of butter in his hands, staring at it curiously from every angle and wondering how it worked.

Maybe you were supposed to pull at the edge of the lid?

Well, he could have, if he didn't rip the edges off already.

He finally decided to simply cut out a rectangle in the centre and get at least some of the butter before his patience ran out and he killed it very painfully and bloodily.

Uch, butterly.

* * *

><p>Bread crust count – Zero.<p>

With the precision, borderline of a doctor during a surgery and a sushi master, he cut the round loaf into perfect, perfect symmetrical pieces.

Leftovers – zero.

He applied butter and melted cheese, all of this while dancing around the kitchen swiftly.

Number of plates – 2

Number of cups – 2

He added two-and-half spoons of brown sugar.

He tasted.

He grimaced on the second, slightly bitter taste of the black tea, and added a spoonful of honey to make it more sweet.

Brewing time – 3 minutes.

He put the entire thing together on a big plate, and grinned from ear to ear.

_Perfect._

And then he carefully lifted it up and marched out of the kitchen, leaving one plate and a steaming mug next to Lily's drawer to eventually pick up his attention.

* * *

><p>He tip-toed into his bedroom, and, carrying the dishware in four fingers like it didn't weight anything, pulled the curtains aside, making bright, happy streams of sunlight flood his bedroom.<p>

Their bedroom.

The brightness reflected from cornflower blue, making it into Lapis Lazuli. White clashed with white, black started warming up pleasantly, and a set of soft, chestnut eyes started squirming as she tried to turn on her other side and continue her light slumber.

"Not happening." He chuckled softly, coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed, making the thick set of mattresses bend slightly under the weight. She let out a soft noise of protest and tried to cover her eyes, but then the honey reached her tiny nose and her eyes finally slid open, a little confused frown on her face.

And then she saw it, her husband in front of her with a breakfast he made for her, a rather proud-of-himself grin on his face – the one she saw so many times in so many battles.

Her cheeks shifted in color to match her happy embarrassment, and she immediately averted her eyes, a little, gentle smile pulling at the corners of her pink lips.

"Levy." He urged on, and she giggled because she _almost_ heard a hint of a whine to it. Not wanting to destroy his absolutely perfect mood, she lifted herself up on her elbows… Only to let out a small yelp as her perfectly round, move-halting belly started weighting her down.

She covered her face, cheeks aflame with embarrassment and a bit of shame, and his grin turned gentle.

"Come on."

She dared to peek at him from between her fingers and saw an outstretched hand. She shook her head.

"Otherwise I get you up myself. Och, and I spoon-feed you." He teased, and both of her hands were outstretched towards him in an instant, like a child begging a parent to gather it up in their arms.

He grasped the tips of her fingers as if she was a princess and pulled her up slowly, giving her time to gather some blood into her head and fight off the spinning, before he slid the plate on her knees, up to her belly.

"Here you go." He said, and then smoothed out her white nightgown for a good measure, trailing his fingers down her shoulders and closing his eyes in warm, sunny happiness that was just so nice to reside in.

There was a tug at the strands of hair falling before his ears, and a whisper of a kiss on his lips, but he didn't open them. Instead, he reached out and cupped her warm cheeks, bumping their foreheads together.

"Thank you." She muttered shyly, closing her eyes as she cherished the moment silently.

"Yeah… I think I've earned it." He mumbled softly, and they both shared a warm moment of silence.

* * *

><p><strong>Just ate self-made supper that just had me doing this. In an instant.<strong>

**Och, fluff, I have not forgotten about you in my gore of glory!**

_~HeartGold12_ **is writing the next chapter of TDP**


	8. Meals

There was never a harder dilemma in her entire life, and Levy knew it. Biting her lip, book carefully opened in her lap, she stared at the lines after lines of boring text, before turning to the man on neighboring stool.

Gajeel just raised one pierced eyebrow, munching on a tin can that previously contained his beer. It agitated the distressed mage even more, resulting in the tome narrowly remaining on her trembling knees, feet waving back and fro as she felt a very convincing urge to scream and tear her cornflower hair off her scalp.

So many things happened in the past months. With her, with them, _between_ them. But now, even the dragon's presence seemed not to give her any comfort; it even added a slight insult to the unforgivable crime she was debating to _do_. It came from him so easily, so why couldn't she gather the guts to act like him? Act, dare she say, _normal_, considering the situation?

Catching the book in a knuckle-whitening grip, unaware that it was just about to tumble to the dirty bar floor, her pout reached levels nobody had the chance to witness before and the guild suddenly became very quiet. That fact, and the lack of any more metal within his claws bought Gajeel's attention, and he decided to intervene.

"_Oi."_

"W-What?" The bluenete stammered, jumping in her seat and whirling around to face him.

"Do it."

_Nooooo!_ Screamed a little being in Levy's head, and she was horrified to identify it as her own book worm, trembling hysterically between the borders of her mind; previously so safe and sure, but now clearly influenced by the dark dragon sitting across them, right in the middle of their perception.

"B-But Gajeel…" Levy stuttered, now clutching the tome to her chest like it was a small baby and he wanted to rip into very small pieces. "I'm… I'm just… I don't think it's a good idea!"

Gajeel eyed her, surprised. "Not a good idea? Shrimp, we already discussed that I was going to teach you-"

"But!" Levy cut in, eyes wide and fearful."I was just, um, I was wondering, if, uch, if… If I was going to get addicted!"

Gajeel's eyes bulged. "What?"

"You know! That I'll start with some boring stuff, and then, _bam_! My cherished novels are gone, and…" At that, Levy gasped. "…What If I'll do it to _Lucy's novel?!_"

"Calm down, women!"

"But I don't wanna do it!" The bluenette cried out, sinking the tome further into her small body.

A vein popped out next to the dragon's temple and he growled lowly at her. In the very next second, Levy found herself directly on his lap, and gasped in astonishment, trying to get away from his hold around her waist. "No! Let me go, Gajeel!"

"Uch-huh. No way."

Both mages shifted their gazes to the tome Levy clutched to her body, an aura of tension raising as their fellow guild mates crawled one over another to get a better look at the unfolding situation; still keeping their distance in fear of the duo's wrath at the interruption. Levy shuddered as the large man dug his hand between her exposed stomach and the hard cover, prying it out of her grasp and resettling on her lap, open at a random page.

"Now, do it."

Levy shook her head. _No._

"Fine, I do it for you."

'You can't!' Levy tried to object. But suddenly, she felt something in the palm of her hand, and became horrorstruck as she found his hand clutching hers, that in turn held a pair of black chopsticks. "Wait, Gajeel! Gajeel, you can't, I don't want and I _can't_-"

All became quiet as he directed her hand above the open pages – and lifted up a line of black text, pushing it into Levy's open mouth.

Everybody held their breath.

The woman blinked. Once. Twice. Then she hastily started chewing, and swallowed.

"See? It wasn't that hard, Slayer. How's the taste?"

"It's nice." Levy admitted, guilty written all over her face at the sour sting on her tongue, mixed with bitterness and sweetness. It truly were. She felt a cold nose brushing the tender skin of her neck and blushed, scales blooming at the tips of her fingers along with goodebumps.

"See? Wasn't that hard." The iron dragon hummed as she dejectedly collapsed against his chest.

"Yeah, yeah. But if I seriously get addicted, you have another thing coming, stupid."

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><p><strong>After 297 I had a huge-ass writer's block. As in, HUGE. Don't worry though, I'm writing the next chapter for TDP, even if it has the peace of a slug and I just threw up an entire part because it seemed just odd.<strong>

**However, my deviantart account is blooming! :D It's HeartGold12 by the way, and filled to the brim with Gale fanart!**

**Review! Help me gather my wits so I can continue! *Rawr!***

**P.S. Levy is a Sound DS, eating ink, breathing supersonics and punching flashbangs. Her scales turn her invisible, and the entire idea is created for her daughter that is my OC, Nana – previously Yoko in the chapter with the Owl.**

**Also, Void is on Hiatus. I believe it's not nearly enough sadistic and gruesome to match the upcoming events. ****So, i think i'll rewrite it.**

_~HeartGold12_


	9. Steel

**So I was writing this since chapter 397 was released and now I finished it. That's great, because I don't think I'd be able to keep writng for much longer after the feels overload of 400 ;w;**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>There was something bugging at Levy's mind, something she couldn't quite put a finger on or put into proper words. Ever since Gajeel's win against Torafusa and the <em>insane<em> battles that followed, it bubbled up inside of her... only to be squashed by the life-threatening situations thrown at them, preventing her from thinking properly about it. Instead, she tried to focus solely on Gajeel and the rest of her precious friends, aiding them with all of the magic she had stored inside of her body, and even then, mustering up a lifesaver or two.

But as their battered family had finally rounded up and rolled out of the smoking remains of the cube, one limping person supporting another and all collectively _shaken_, the lone string of thought that fought for her attention had finally caught it.

And Levy started laughing. And she couldn't _stop_.

It was safe to say that from the crowd of bleeding, bruised, poisoned and burned people (and in Gray's case, also frostbitten), she'd gotten more than just a few odd looks. However, the one that gave her the most quizzical one was a particular Steel Dragon, watching her wiggle around in his arms to muffle the sound, and then start to hiccup.

"Lost it yet, shorty?"

"Don't call me shorty," she complained, smiling against the tatters that once used to be his shirt, before moving up to peer at him through her lashes, "I know you can use my real name."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup. You said it at least four times."

"Oh, so you _counted._" The man had the _nerve_ to grin down at her. "Well, If you say so. Though I might've forgotten. Got knocked a few times in the head and all."

However, before she could do as much as stick her tongue at him and hiccup again, she felt his rough hand on her cheek, carefully wiping off the corners of her watery eyes. She hadn't even realized she was tearing up.

"Levy." He rumbled at her then, the grin on his face softening into something more serious, something that made her grasp at his arm - wrapping her fingers around his and gently squeezing at the rusted scales there. "You _okay_?"

And though she was dead tired, bruised all over and poisoned to the point where she was unable to stand up on her own, all she did was nestle into his collarbone with a sigh and grumble, "_Yeah_."

But after a second, the corners of her mouth raised a little and she hummed, "I'm just thinking about something stupid."

_"Oh?"_

"It's just," She giggled, looking up at him for a second, "It was bugging me ever since I shouted about the iron and carbon creating steel together. I couldn't shake it off - iron and it's properties, smelting, shaping..."

"What, you were thinking about _science_?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow at her. "While I was almost getting shredded to pieces, you were occupied with _that_?"

Levy puffed her cheeks out at that, eyes narrowing. "Okay, I've been thinking about _you_ and iron." She deadpanned.

"_Oh_."

"But, you know, you're not that far off the mark." She mumbled with a blush, the tiny tidbits of information that followed her around for the past few hours moving to the forefront of her mind. "Iron is a chemical element called _ferrum_ with the atomic number 26. It's the second most common metal on earth, along with being the fourth most common element, recognized by a silvery-gray color. It's reactive to oxygen and water, causing it to rust. Also, unlike other metals, the rust falls off in flakes, exposing new surfaces for corrosion."

The Dragon Slayer looked at her with amusement, "This is amazing, except I already know all of this stuff."

"I know," she agreed, "but, please let me finish."

"Are you saying you know something I don't?"

"_Maybe_."

She felt him shift at that, looking down at her curiously. "Well, bring it on."

"Alright then..." Levy replied, taking a deep breath and concentrating. "Pure Iron is soft," she said then. "And it only becomes harder because of the impurities inserted into it, such as carbon. However, iron with a very high carbon content isn't really good either - it's called _pig_ iron for a reason, that being it's fragileness and uselessness. The key to obtaining strong iron is to find the balance between those two substances - only then does it get the quality it's known for. So, after the right percentage is decided, the pig iron is taken and cleansed of the redundant amounts of carbon in a series of complex processes..."

"Thus creating _steel_." Gajeel interrupted, sounding even more amused than before. He tugged his arm away from where she was playing with his fingers and poked her in the forehead. "Come on, how could you think that _this_, of all things, would surprise me? _Steel_ Dragon Slayer, remember? _Fe-C_? Or did you get knocked in the head too and forgot _you_ were the one telling this to everyone in the first place?" He chuckled as his assault continued, liberally tickling her behind the ears and scratching lightly underneath her chin before moving up.

"Yeah, but don't you think it's a bit _ironic_?" Gajeel groaned at that, ignoring her attempts to swat his hand away from her face.

"Nope."

"Well, then." Levy blushed, trying to turn herself away from the pokes to her forehead and cheeks, and ending the spree by catching his hand and pressing it into the damp, dirty mess that used to be her hair. "Let me phase that a little _differently_." She grinned, before taking a deep breath and letting her mind _do the thing_.

"Pure Iron is... It's _soft_." She murmured then. "Some say it's softer than aluminium - lustrous and beautiful and very, _very_ rare. But then, it comes into contact with various impurities, like carbon, causing it to harden. The more tainted it gets, the stronger it becomes - resists pretty much _anything_ - but then... But then it crosses the line, and the hardness gives way to fragileness. The steel becomes brittle - it becomes pig iron."

The Script mage took another deep breath, feeling her face _burn_ as Gajeel's entire body stiffened in a way that could only be him figuring out what was going on. However, he said nothing - and she took it as her cue to continue.

"But then- If you take that pig iron, if you put some time and effort into it... If you heat it up, stir it, and add some oxygen, the impurities go away one by one until only a little remains, to make it stronger... And it turns into _steel_. And Gajeel, I just thought it was... It was really ironic, because that sounds _exactly_ like you. Not just as a steel mage," She shook her head slightly, her grin softening, "though it seems that even your element tries really hard to underline how far you've come. I meant the _real_, living, breathing you."

There was no answer from him still, so she took the initiative and craned her head all the way back to catch a glimpse of his eyes. It was harder than before, because he wasn't looking back at her - his eyes seemed to be focused somewhere above the heads of the guild members surrounding them. But after a long moment, he did stare back - and the seriousness in his gaze made her eyebrows furrow.

"Are you ok?" She mumbled worriedly. "It's just an idea... And it was meant to be positive. I'm sorry if I said something wrong and- _what are you doing-_"

Levy gave a small shriek as she felt the man shift before _tossing her up_, but thankfully wrapping his arms around her middle and quickly - _gently_ - bringing her back against him... In what she immediately realized was a big, warm _hug_.

Blushing for all she was worth, the Script Mage couldn't help but hum as she felt his lips brush against her temple, before squeezing her again for a good measure."I think I told you to stop apologizing for everything." He rumbled at her then, the tension from before all but gone as he butted his forehead against hers.

"I know." She answered, looking to the side shyly. "But you seemed a little... off. I didn't want to upset you."

Gajeel grinned. "How touching. But, you know, I don't get upset _that_ easily," he reassured her.

"So, what were you..."

"I was thinking you're pretty smart," he laughed, "and amazing. And you care about me far too much for your own good." He winked at her, and her blush became even darker, if it was even possible. "I guess I didn't know that one after all."

"So... I win?"

"I guess." He shrugged, his brows furrowing. "But I'm not going to write a song for you or anything, just in case."

"I don't want it." The Script Mage sighed, before an idea popped into her head, making her bite her lip to suppress another smile. "But you can compliment me some more if you want."

"Ah." He hummed. "Alright, then."

She didn't protest when he readjusted her for the dozenth time or so, caressing her face again before moving closer - lightly brushing his lips against hers and then trailing along her cheek to the delicate shell of her ear. He bit the lobe slightly, making her shiver, his breath tickling her skin slightly.

"_Your amazing intelligence, concentration and divided attention allow you to flawlessly compare my life to a chunk of iron._"

The smack she delivered to his shoulder was supposed to hurt him, not make him _laugh_.

* * *

><p><strong>fin.<strong>

_~HeartGold12_


End file.
